It was a chilly overcast morning, in early February, when we arrived at Sesquicentennial State Park for the day’s adventure. Other than the park rangers, there wasn’t a soul in sight. This is where we would start our Ultimate Outsider quest.
What is an Ultimate Outsider you ask? It’s a challenge to explore all of South Carolinas 47 State Parks and Historic Sites. When you start, you are presented with an official guide, free of charge, which gives you an overview of each site. Every park has an official stamp. There’s a block in the guide that corresponds to each park where the stamp is to be placed. Once all the stamps have been collected you get a free t-shirt. More importantly, you have memories and experiences to talk about for a lifetime.
Sesquicentennial State Park has two main trails and four total. One is a mountain bike trail, and the other is a combination of three that intertwine. For this adventure, we decided to take on the Sandhills Hiking and Jackson Creek Nature Trail. Both trails circle around Sesquicentennial Lake and through part of the mostly pine forest.
As we worked our way around the trail we came across some extremely large pinecones. Anybody who’s spent some time in the sandhills of South Carolina knows that the pinecones in these areas are of a different breed. And they just beg to be photographed.
Besides the pinecones, we spotted a few colorful and beautiful painted rocks. It’s as if they were conveniently placed along the trail, by some kind soul, to brighten another’s day. Such cool pieces of art.
After a few photos in the forest, we turned our attention to the lake. The mostly cloudy skies, coupled with the somewhat breezy conditions, made for some beautiful pictures of the lake.
In the warmer months, this lake would be bustling with activity. With the park offering rowboat, canoe and kayak rentals, it makes for a very popular attraction.
About three quarters of the way around the trail we came upon a bridge. This bridge basically designates where the lake ends, and Jackson Creek begins. Jackson Creek meanders through a sort of marshy area and leads to a small two-tiered waterfall. By small I mean not a large drop. It does span the distance of the creek, and like most waterfalls, it is very peaceful and relaxing. Several high-res photos, in color and monochrome, can be found below.
This was a great place to get our Ultimate Outsider challenge started. We’ve since added 22 other State Parks and Historic Site stamps to our guide. This doesn’t even count the many other adventures we’ve been on this year. Check out my blog for more short stories of our travels.
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Sesquicentennial State Park has quite a bit to offer and is conveniently located off I-77, just slightly northeast of Columbia. If you’re in the area, check it out! Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!
